By Lynn Voedisch
They're shuffling the deck in the federal re-trial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Blagojevich's brother Robert Blagojevich on Thursday, saying he had less of a role in the federal corruption case. There were four felony charges against the ex-governor's brother and the jury was deadlocked on all charges in a recently ended trial.
A re-trial of Rod Blagojevich, which observers thought would take place during the run-up to the fall elections, will now take place in 2011, according to presiding judge James B. Zagel. Citing scheduling conflicts over the holidays, the judge denied the federal prosecutors an earlier start. The judge also requested a report on Blagojevich's finances to determine whether or not he is broke and qualified to receive legal help. He cut the ex-governor's legal team to two lawyers (he formerly had an entire team) and said he would appoint the advocates if it's determined that Blagojevich is in financial need.
The surprise announcements mean that the Democrats don't have as much to fret about this election season. Earlier, the party had been worried that Republicans would make hay with accusations about Democratic corruption with the Blago trial going on during election season. The truth, of course, is that Democrats have no lock on corruption, and former Republican Governor George Ryan is sitting right now in the federal penitentiary doing time for taking bribes while in office.
Although federal prosecutors complained about the 2011 court date, it gives them plenty of time to streamline a case against Blagojevich, since the 23-count prosecution clearly didn't work, ending in deadlock on 22 counts and conviction only on lying to FBI agents—a conviction Blagojevich will appeal. Look for the feds to knock off some of the lesser counts, bring in some some convincing witnesses, perhaps go for some "star" witnesses on its subpoena list such as Rahm Emmanuel, and hammer home the idea that quid pro quo cases don't always need to end up with the merchandise being delivered. If U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald waited until Blagojevich installed a new senator in President Barack Obama's old seat it would have been too late to stop the "one-man crime wave" Fitzgerald described.
As for Blagojevich's brother, it's long been considered that the case against him was small potatoes. Many considered him the "bag man," his protestations that "I have done nothing wrong" notwithstanding. Still, the prosecution loses nothing by dropping this attack.
Read more: http://technorati.com/politics/article/blago-brother-off-hook-blago-retrial/#ixzz0xwLP9ds6
Article first published as Blago Brother Off Hook, Blago Retrial in 2011 on Technorati.
August 28, 2010
August 24, 2010
The Chicago Cubs Blow Their Last Game for This Fan
By Lynn Voedisch
I never thought I'd be saying it, but I'm hanging up my Chicago Cubs hat for the season, putting away the jerseys, and forgetting about any more games until next year. That's because Friday's game did me in. After so many seasons of broken hearts, this game raised so much bile and bitterness I had to go home and sleep it off for a while. After losing fan favorite and team captain Derrek Lee to the Atlanta Braves this week, the Cubs had to face him and the rest of Bobby Cox's hot team at Wrigley Field. It was weird enough seeing Lee at first base in a Braves uniform, and fans were uneasy, unsure how to react when he came up to bat. He was a beloved figure in Chicago and it felt felt wrong to boo him. Still when he popped out, they applauded heartily.
With so many long-standing Cubs veterans gone—Ryan Theriot, Ted Lilly, Mike Fontenot, and now Lee—the lineup looked bereft. New acquisition Blake DeWitt has done nothing to excite anyone. Starlin Castro, who got everyone pumped up in spring training has fizzled. And all those aforementioned star players were traded for AA and even single A prospects. Don't even ask about the pitching staff. My friends and I were poring over the scorecard trying to figure out who was left. However, pitcher Ryan Dempster did a fine job of making a game of it. He only gave up one home run to Omar Infante in the third and then held the Braves only one more score with run put together by a walk (one of the two he issued) by Martin Prado, who was driven home with a double by Alex Gonzalez.
On the Cubs side, they could have won. First, a group of nice small-ball hits sent De Witt home in the second inning. Then Amaris Ramirez came out of his zombie-like daze and hit a solo homer off of Braves pitcher Jair Jurgens in the fourth. Then Marlon Byrd hit a nice slice down the left field line into the territory by the foul pole for a triple and Ramirez repeated with almost the same move, driving Byrd home (although Ramirez, not as fast, only got to second). So, Cubs, 3, Braves, 2. It was looking good until the ninth inning and Dempster didn't need any relief.
Then Carlos Marmol stepped in. The good old closer we know and love. I remember asking in a Cubs story before, "what would we do without Marmol?" Well, now I know, because the man has taken the Crazy Train. Maybe he's been over-worked (there are hardly any pitchers, remember). Or maybe he's ticked off, for he struck out Lee with a vengeance. But he completely lost that steely-eyed focus he's known for. Instead he was whipping balls all over the place, over the plate, nearly at the batters, nearly to Milwaukee. He filled the bases and people started to groan. Still, he had ONE STRIKE TO GO for victory. The crowd was on its feet. The cheers started. He threw two balls in the dirt. The Braves fans started to cheer. And then the unthinkable happened. Rick Ankiel hit a triple bringing home two runners. Score, 5-3, Braves. The starch was out of the Cubs and they just pooped out.
I've never heard the crowd boo Marmol before, but they did today.
This is what happens when you dismantle a team as deftly as Jim Hendry has taken apart the Chicago Cubs. They may have started the season a bit slowly but they had all the working parts in order. Now he's sent anyone who was any good away, kept on hopeless chokers like Alfonso Soriano, has a stable of untested kids in AA, and has the nerve to tell fans, "I think you should be excited about the future of this team." Tell you what, Hendry. How about not? How about the fans giving up on your pathetic mess of a team? Lou Piniella is lucky he retired.
Read more: http://technorati.com/sports/baseball/article/the-chicago-cubs-blow-their-last/page-2/#ixzz0xa8gjmNN
Read more: http://technorati.com/sports/baseball/article/the-chicago-cubs-blow-their-last/#ixzz0xa8ToL3W
Article first published as The Chicago Cubs Blow Their Last Game for This Fan on Technorati.
I never thought I'd be saying it, but I'm hanging up my Chicago Cubs hat for the season, putting away the jerseys, and forgetting about any more games until next year. That's because Friday's game did me in. After so many seasons of broken hearts, this game raised so much bile and bitterness I had to go home and sleep it off for a while. After losing fan favorite and team captain Derrek Lee to the Atlanta Braves this week, the Cubs had to face him and the rest of Bobby Cox's hot team at Wrigley Field. It was weird enough seeing Lee at first base in a Braves uniform, and fans were uneasy, unsure how to react when he came up to bat. He was a beloved figure in Chicago and it felt felt wrong to boo him. Still when he popped out, they applauded heartily.
With so many long-standing Cubs veterans gone—Ryan Theriot, Ted Lilly, Mike Fontenot, and now Lee—the lineup looked bereft. New acquisition Blake DeWitt has done nothing to excite anyone. Starlin Castro, who got everyone pumped up in spring training has fizzled. And all those aforementioned star players were traded for AA and even single A prospects. Don't even ask about the pitching staff. My friends and I were poring over the scorecard trying to figure out who was left. However, pitcher Ryan Dempster did a fine job of making a game of it. He only gave up one home run to Omar Infante in the third and then held the Braves only one more score with run put together by a walk (one of the two he issued) by Martin Prado, who was driven home with a double by Alex Gonzalez.
On the Cubs side, they could have won. First, a group of nice small-ball hits sent De Witt home in the second inning. Then Amaris Ramirez came out of his zombie-like daze and hit a solo homer off of Braves pitcher Jair Jurgens in the fourth. Then Marlon Byrd hit a nice slice down the left field line into the territory by the foul pole for a triple and Ramirez repeated with almost the same move, driving Byrd home (although Ramirez, not as fast, only got to second). So, Cubs, 3, Braves, 2. It was looking good until the ninth inning and Dempster didn't need any relief.
Then Carlos Marmol stepped in. The good old closer we know and love. I remember asking in a Cubs story before, "what would we do without Marmol?" Well, now I know, because the man has taken the Crazy Train. Maybe he's been over-worked (there are hardly any pitchers, remember). Or maybe he's ticked off, for he struck out Lee with a vengeance. But he completely lost that steely-eyed focus he's known for. Instead he was whipping balls all over the place, over the plate, nearly at the batters, nearly to Milwaukee. He filled the bases and people started to groan. Still, he had ONE STRIKE TO GO for victory. The crowd was on its feet. The cheers started. He threw two balls in the dirt. The Braves fans started to cheer. And then the unthinkable happened. Rick Ankiel hit a triple bringing home two runners. Score, 5-3, Braves. The starch was out of the Cubs and they just pooped out.
I've never heard the crowd boo Marmol before, but they did today.
This is what happens when you dismantle a team as deftly as Jim Hendry has taken apart the Chicago Cubs. They may have started the season a bit slowly but they had all the working parts in order. Now he's sent anyone who was any good away, kept on hopeless chokers like Alfonso Soriano, has a stable of untested kids in AA, and has the nerve to tell fans, "I think you should be excited about the future of this team." Tell you what, Hendry. How about not? How about the fans giving up on your pathetic mess of a team? Lou Piniella is lucky he retired.
Read more: http://technorati.com/sports/baseball/article/the-chicago-cubs-blow-their-last/page-2/#ixzz0xa8gjmNN
Read more: http://technorati.com/sports/baseball/article/the-chicago-cubs-blow-their-last/#ixzz0xa8ToL3W
Article first published as The Chicago Cubs Blow Their Last Game for This Fan on Technorati.
August 20, 2010
Will Someone Convict Blago on All Counts, Please?
By Lynn Voedisch
I suppose if you live anywhere but in Illinois, Rod Blagojevich is just another one of those funny names. He's a goofy guy with a shock of Fifties-style hair who shows up on programs like Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice and The View and makes an amiable fool of himself. So what if he was impeached almost unanimously by the Illinois legislature (the sole holdout was a relative)? What a funny guy! He even does Elvis Presley impressions.
But while he was making America snicker, he was making residents of Illinois steam. This schnook not only was taped trying to shake down a children's hospital for campaign funds, tried to sell off President Barack Obama's former Senate seat to the highest bidder, but he also completely ruined the state budget. One of the things that came out of the just-ended mistrial (in which he was convicted of only one count, lying to FBI agents), was that he'd hide in the bathroom when tough decisions needed to be made. What a great governor! He handed a blown-out-of-proportion debt to lieutenant governor Pat Quinn, whom he never talked to and therefore left unequipped to deal with such contingencies. Quinn, now governor, has been scrambling ever since to try to fix the gap.
The jury in Blago's trial couldn't make up their minds on 11 counts out of 12 (and there were many more that the prosecutors hadn't even brought up yet). According to news accounts, in the case of the Obama Senate seat for sale, the jury was deadlocked at 11-1. Who was this juror who couldn't hear what everyone in the state read in transcript form? That the seat was (bleeping) golden? That if Blago couldn't get some big money for it, he'd take it himself? Was this juror crazy? Or pressured by outside forces? We'll never know.
All I know is that when the U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald released the partial transcripts and described Blagojevich as a "one-man crime spree," the people of the state went ballistic. People begged, pleaded, demanded that their state representatives and senators vote for impeachment. No matter how Blago tried to paint it as a political plot, the impeachment was a highly democratic move.
I've heard comments such as, "they've spent too much money already. In the court of public opinion, he's already guilty." Or, "He's got one count against him. He could go to prison on that." Then there are those who comment about the "flimsy evidence" the prosecution presented. Let's get one thing straight: the evidence itself was not flimsy; the case the prosecution presented was bad. They only called two witnesses who were Blago turncoats. They could have called Rahm Emmanuel, the White House chief of staff, known to have been pressured by Blago thugs. They had a star list of people on the subpoena list. But they chose not to call them. Instead they relied on the tapes, which weren't enough—especially for the holdout juror.
We need a criminal conviction for Blago to end the talk that impeachment was a political game. We need a judge pounding a gavel, saying "guilty!" and sending the tap-dancing Blagojevich to jail to do some time and start thinking about what it means to expect money to fill a United States Senate seat. He was a horrible governor and he damaged our state's coffers and our state's already shaky reputation. Let's go through this monkey trial again, and let's get it right!
Read more: http://technorati.com/politics/article/someone-convict-blago-on-all-counts/page-2/#ixzz0xCJehjMp
Read more: http://technorati.com/politics/article/someone-convict-blago-on-all-counts/#ixzz0xCJVeMNM
Article first published as Someone Convict Blago on All Counts, Please! on Technorati.
I suppose if you live anywhere but in Illinois, Rod Blagojevich is just another one of those funny names. He's a goofy guy with a shock of Fifties-style hair who shows up on programs like Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice and The View and makes an amiable fool of himself. So what if he was impeached almost unanimously by the Illinois legislature (the sole holdout was a relative)? What a funny guy! He even does Elvis Presley impressions.
But while he was making America snicker, he was making residents of Illinois steam. This schnook not only was taped trying to shake down a children's hospital for campaign funds, tried to sell off President Barack Obama's former Senate seat to the highest bidder, but he also completely ruined the state budget. One of the things that came out of the just-ended mistrial (in which he was convicted of only one count, lying to FBI agents), was that he'd hide in the bathroom when tough decisions needed to be made. What a great governor! He handed a blown-out-of-proportion debt to lieutenant governor Pat Quinn, whom he never talked to and therefore left unequipped to deal with such contingencies. Quinn, now governor, has been scrambling ever since to try to fix the gap.
The jury in Blago's trial couldn't make up their minds on 11 counts out of 12 (and there were many more that the prosecutors hadn't even brought up yet). According to news accounts, in the case of the Obama Senate seat for sale, the jury was deadlocked at 11-1. Who was this juror who couldn't hear what everyone in the state read in transcript form? That the seat was (bleeping) golden? That if Blago couldn't get some big money for it, he'd take it himself? Was this juror crazy? Or pressured by outside forces? We'll never know.
All I know is that when the U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald released the partial transcripts and described Blagojevich as a "one-man crime spree," the people of the state went ballistic. People begged, pleaded, demanded that their state representatives and senators vote for impeachment. No matter how Blago tried to paint it as a political plot, the impeachment was a highly democratic move.
I've heard comments such as, "they've spent too much money already. In the court of public opinion, he's already guilty." Or, "He's got one count against him. He could go to prison on that." Then there are those who comment about the "flimsy evidence" the prosecution presented. Let's get one thing straight: the evidence itself was not flimsy; the case the prosecution presented was bad. They only called two witnesses who were Blago turncoats. They could have called Rahm Emmanuel, the White House chief of staff, known to have been pressured by Blago thugs. They had a star list of people on the subpoena list. But they chose not to call them. Instead they relied on the tapes, which weren't enough—especially for the holdout juror.
We need a criminal conviction for Blago to end the talk that impeachment was a political game. We need a judge pounding a gavel, saying "guilty!" and sending the tap-dancing Blagojevich to jail to do some time and start thinking about what it means to expect money to fill a United States Senate seat. He was a horrible governor and he damaged our state's coffers and our state's already shaky reputation. Let's go through this monkey trial again, and let's get it right!
Read more: http://technorati.com/politics/article/someone-convict-blago-on-all-counts/page-2/#ixzz0xCJehjMp
Read more: http://technorati.com/politics/article/someone-convict-blago-on-all-counts/#ixzz0xCJVeMNM
Article first published as Someone Convict Blago on All Counts, Please! on Technorati.
August 3, 2010
Time? What's Time? by Miguel Kertsman makes head spin
The musical production of Miguel Kertsman, Time? What's Time?reminds me of the expansive musical experimentation of the old radio show, Musical Starstreams, that born-in-the-'80s program featuring "space music" and later, trance music, trip hop, and all sorts of exotic music that had no category. (Much to my amazement, Starstreams and host Frank Forest are still around and available by streaming from his Internet site.)
But Kertsman is so much more than far-out noodling in space-time. The Brazilan-born artist has performed with orchestras all over the world and is at home with a grand pipe organ as he is with electronic instruments. In the lush and fantastic Time? What's Time? I was expecting Philip Glass-like play with dynamics and time signatures, but that's just a beginning for Kertsman. He's all over the place, layering tribal sounds over a bed of ambient music, string ensembles, a full symphony, baroque singing, and even pop singing with lyrics. It could have been a mess, or just a head trip. And, well, sometimes it is. But mostly it works, sending the listener on fantastic flights of fancy that are best listened to at home and not in a moving environment such as a car. I'd hate to see the accident caused by listening to one of Kertsman's involved and wound-up musical adventures. Talk about distracted driving!
I'm not at all sure the listener is going to get as much out of the album that Kertsman intends with his ambitious liner notes (If he indeed wrote them: no other credit is given.) They give a long, and fairly pretentious story of "the Masters of Vega" who live within the Universal Music. They somehow make themselves known. Gravity tunnels form and humans must choose which ones to take. (Why?) The ones who take the right tunnels prepare new worlds….blah…blah…blah. I can't go on with this stuff. Nor could I follow it with the music.
But it didn't detract from the artistry one bit. There was some very intensive musicianship on display including great jazzy piano work on "Promises, Lies, and Deception," "The Drifter" just rocks out. I thoroughly enjoyed all the ethereal musical touches, whether they were electronic or orchestra, for Kertsman avoided that drifting-off-into-space sound. However, and I may just be idiosyncratic about this, I didn't go for the vocal work. It seemed too hokey for a musical production of this magnitude. The "Masters of Vega" were operatic in sound and they grated on my nerves. Let's keep opera in opera. I've never liked the sound of traditionally trained singers fighting off electric guitar or synthesized sound. It just doesn't work.
On the whole this is an astounding work, full of musical genius, and brimming with ideas that may make your eyes pop. On the downside, Kertsman may have tried to pack too much into one album. He's done plenty in his career, having produced Four Choruses & Lullabies,Amazonica, Rhythmic Fission and Gravity Tunnel, so another album is not out of the question. I'd have been happier without the vocals. As for the liner notes, if you can follow them, more luck to you. If not, I doubt the listener is missing anything.
For those with PCs, his Web site also offers a Conyclism game (for a limited time) on his Web site. There also are more videos on the site.
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-miguel-kertsman-time-whats/#ixzz0vaZd5Ill
Article first published as Music Review Time? What's Time? by Miguel Kertsman on Blogcritics.
August 1, 2010
Angelology tries to answer puzzles of Genesis' giants
Passages in Genesis, Chapter 6, Chapter 1-2 , have puzzled theologians for centuries with some simple yet strange words: "The Sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair and they took them wives of all that they chose."
The "sons of God" were in Hebrew bene ha elohim, which is usually translated as "angels." Later, Genesis goes on to say:
"The Nephilim (sometimes translated as 'giants,' especially in the King James Version) were in the earth in those days, and also after that when the Sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them: the same were the mighty men which were of old, the men of renown."
The words have puzzled thousands of readers throughout history, no less Danielle Trussoni, author of Angelology. An apocryphal Book of Enoch, popular in the Middle Ages, described a whole history of fallen angels — separate from Satan's flock — who left the Watchers God sent to keep tabs on humanity. Instead these angels mated with human females to beget a race of giants, also called the Nephilm (or fallen ones). And the Nephilim were so powerful and so lacking in human kindness that God had to wipe them out with Noah's Flood.
Enter, then, Angelology.
Many books have dealt seriously with the subject of the Nephilim over the years, although not many authors wanted to consider that the beings were really angelic in nature. One excellent book asking the question of who these giants were is From the Ashes of Angels by English writer Andrew Collins. He produces pictures of totem-like giant heads from Mideast cultures and quotes copiously from the Book of Enoch (which can be read in The Other Bible). Clearly, he doesn't believe in mythic beasts, but he does believe there is something to the story of the Nephilim that gave rise to the Biblical passages.
So what does Trussoni create in her obviously fictional creation? Well, angels. Really, really bad angels. Her scholarship is top-notch and she researches the very beginnings the beliefs in the Nephilim. But where a writer like Collins allows archeology to take him to ruins in Turkey or to turn to myths of several Mideastern lands, Trussoni allows flights of fancy to create ruling families of Nephilm that populate Europe. (One family name is Grigori, which is Greek for Nephilim — all very clever.)
A few critics called Trussoni's work similar to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is an extremely well-written book, whereas Brown's work, with its three-page chapters, was largely pop trash.
Trussoni takes religion seriously, for one thing. She also is careful to to not only create characters, such as the protagonist Evangeilne — a young nun with a past that is revealed slowly and deliciously — who are believable and true to their cause. Their goal is to wipe out the Nephilim before the enemy wipes out humanity.
The author maps out villains who do what they must from their perspective. There are no pure killing machines here. The fallen angels have their own feelings and own needs. Surely the best villains are those who think they are doing the best, for who truly thinks they are wrong? Trussoni does a great job of getting into the heads of the Nephilim, repellant as they are.
The plot blends into the story of an aged nun, Celestine, who turns out to be a former anti-Nephilim agent. She supplies necessary narrative mid-stream when Evangeline's memories are lacking. All in all, the strategy works smoothly despite the change of narrator. Only the robo-killer angels at the end are a bit too much. And the apotheosis at the culmination strained credibility for me. Some might go for it, but I rolled my eyes.
Still, the novel stands head and shoulders above anything with the word "angels" that has appeared in the fiction category in long time. Too bad it can't answer what Genesis, Chapter 6 was talking about after all these years, for I hardly think Europe has been run by Nephilim for centuries. But then, after eons, no one can has a handle on the fallen angels yet. Why not Trussoni?
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-angelology-a-novel-by/page-2/#ixzz0vPok1kAC
Article first published as Book Review: Angelology: A Novel by Danielle Trussoni on Blogcritics.
July 29, 2010
Publisher says e-publishing turns the page on traditional books
The New York publishing business model is dead, so says 32-year-publishing veteran Jerry D. Simmons.
After spending 25 years as a VP of Field Sales with both Random House and the former Time-Warner Book Group, Simmons left traditional publishing for good. In his independently published book What Writers Need to Know About Publishing (available on his Web site), he lets the positive information mix with the negative. Best-selling author Sandra Brown, credits the book as telling "the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of book publishing, told in a straight-from-the-hip manner. New writers take note!"
Technorati posed a question-and-answer session with Simmons about the emergence of e-publishing and what it means to the book business:
LV: Now that Amazon.com has reported selling more Kindle titles than hard-cover books, and mass-market paperback sales in a swoon, it's looking increasingly like best way for an author to sell his or her manuscript is to publish it electronically. However, up until now there had been a stigma against e-books with many reviewers and others refusing to take them seriously. Is this beginning to change?
Simmons: Mainstream media will begin to review and take eBooks more seriously, especially when the first original e-book title arrives on the scene and makes a big sales impact. At that point expect the major newspapers to adopt the digital publication in the same manner they do hardcover and original trade paper. As more of the major New York publishers release content in original e-book format the market will have reached the tipping point.
LV: Amazon.com recently made an offer to publish authors' manuscripts via its Kindle platform, and even sent out instructions for authors to format their copy to fit the Kindle. They would make a 70% share of the profit, according to the Amazon.com press release. This is an enormous deal compared to the tiny royalties that authors earn today. What could the downside possibly be in this scenario? How hard is it for average authors to format copy for this program?
Simmons: The only downside to the Amazon scenario is if the author is required to give up any rights to the content published by Amazon. Anyone can follow their directions and convert to Kindle as long as they have patience and understand the basics of programming. For the independent author this is a program they should consider, but only if it fits in their overall publishing strategy. For writers deciding to go it on their own the biggest problem is they have no plan for how to publish or market. Without a clear direction even for one book, it makes it very difficult to sell product.
LV: Many popular authors are going to Kindle, and you mentioned author J.A. Konrath, whom I have met. He's a great mystery writer who also has a humorous style, much like Janet Evanovich. He has plenty of fans, but I noticed that one of his books, I believe it was Cherry Bomb, did not secure a paperback contract. I wondered what had happened to him and then he showed up on my Kindle. Several of his novels were bargain priced. And there was Cherry Bomb, which I snapped up, since I never got to read that one of the series. For many of his fans, it was a relief to know we could find him again, and now on such a low-priced platform. Discuss his e-book conversion.
Simmons: J.A. Konrath made a very smart and savvy move with his content. Once he realized his earning potential was hampered with a traditional print publisher, he decided to go on his own and the result has been more income for him. The big advantage he has over other authors is a following. He has an audience that was willing to buy his writing regardless of who or how it was published. This has also been done by relatively unknown authors who have achieved a terrific level of success. The key is marketing, whether to your fans or a new pool of readers, if you cannot find ways to alert consumers to your writing you have little chance of selling copies.
LV: Jumping for a minute to iPad as well, I spoke with an author who said that being exposed to so many new, curious readers is a marketer's dream. These people who try out new technology aren't the same ones who read the New York Review of Books. They are willing to try out many new things, including new authors and new genres. Is this true? If so, e-publishing on these new devices could be the way past the barriers that have kept new authors out of New York publishing for so long.
Simmons: The iPad did not suddenly create new readers, it provided a new platform where those interested in technology could find and read content. These folks may never buy books in a bookstore but will purchase an e-book from the iTunes store. Why? The content was seen as relevant, interesting and priced in a way in which the consumer was willing to give it a chance. If they purchase then read and enjoy or find it informative, they will come back. This new method for delivering content is what Apple has created, now it’s up to the publishers to supply the demand for low cost, relevant, interesting and informative content, not to mention entertaining.
LV: Publishers Marketplace is reporting that the Andrew Wylie company is starting a literary agency called Odyssey that will deal solely with e-publishers. Now other literary agencies say they will do the same. Does this mean that they will try to set up the old system that was in place for so long—where, for good or bad, literary agents often had more power than publishers? They used to sort out the obvious garbage that came over the transom, but now they are so frightened of failure that they are rejecting almost everything. Could they bring this same dysfunctional behavior to e-publishing?
Simmons: It makes sense for a literary agency to vertically integrate their business when the cost of e-book production is so low. The traditional method of print publishing carried enormous cost built into the system, now with e-books that cost has gone away. It is inexpensive to produce a quality e-book compared to print so the economics of the business will allow more and more companies to jump in. As for the dysfunctional behavior, I believe that digital publishing will actually provide more opportunities for writers than the old print method.
LV: Finally, anyone who has every published independently knows that marketing is quite difficult. Give writers some tips on how to market e-books, because now there are no book signings anymore, and everything has to be done online. How do you personalize an e-book and ramp up interest? How are YOU ramping up interest?
Simmons: Authors need to stop concentrating on the idea of marketing their book and consider their message or themselves as the focus of their marketing. Publicity sells books and media is interested in a good story, not the fact someone has written and published a book. If an author does not know where their writing is positioned in the market and especially among all the other titles in their genre, they will find it difficult to market. My tips would be 1) decide what to market—their book, message or themselves, and 2) figure out where their title belongs on a bookshelf, between which two competing books?
After spending 25 years as a VP of Field Sales with both Random House and the former Time-Warner Book Group, Simmons left traditional publishing for good. In his independently published book What Writers Need to Know About Publishing (available on his Web site), he lets the positive information mix with the negative. Best-selling author Sandra Brown, credits the book as telling "the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of book publishing, told in a straight-from-the-hip manner. New writers take note!"
Technorati posed a question-and-answer session with Simmons about the emergence of e-publishing and what it means to the book business:
LV: Now that Amazon.com has reported selling more Kindle titles than hard-cover books, and mass-market paperback sales in a swoon, it's looking increasingly like best way for an author to sell his or her manuscript is to publish it electronically. However, up until now there had been a stigma against e-books with many reviewers and others refusing to take them seriously. Is this beginning to change?
Simmons: Mainstream media will begin to review and take eBooks more seriously, especially when the first original e-book title arrives on the scene and makes a big sales impact. At that point expect the major newspapers to adopt the digital publication in the same manner they do hardcover and original trade paper. As more of the major New York publishers release content in original e-book format the market will have reached the tipping point.
LV: Amazon.com recently made an offer to publish authors' manuscripts via its Kindle platform, and even sent out instructions for authors to format their copy to fit the Kindle. They would make a 70% share of the profit, according to the Amazon.com press release. This is an enormous deal compared to the tiny royalties that authors earn today. What could the downside possibly be in this scenario? How hard is it for average authors to format copy for this program?
Simmons: The only downside to the Amazon scenario is if the author is required to give up any rights to the content published by Amazon. Anyone can follow their directions and convert to Kindle as long as they have patience and understand the basics of programming. For the independent author this is a program they should consider, but only if it fits in their overall publishing strategy. For writers deciding to go it on their own the biggest problem is they have no plan for how to publish or market. Without a clear direction even for one book, it makes it very difficult to sell product.
LV: Many popular authors are going to Kindle, and you mentioned author J.A. Konrath, whom I have met. He's a great mystery writer who also has a humorous style, much like Janet Evanovich. He has plenty of fans, but I noticed that one of his books, I believe it was Cherry Bomb, did not secure a paperback contract. I wondered what had happened to him and then he showed up on my Kindle. Several of his novels were bargain priced. And there was Cherry Bomb, which I snapped up, since I never got to read that one of the series. For many of his fans, it was a relief to know we could find him again, and now on such a low-priced platform. Discuss his e-book conversion.
Simmons: J.A. Konrath made a very smart and savvy move with his content. Once he realized his earning potential was hampered with a traditional print publisher, he decided to go on his own and the result has been more income for him. The big advantage he has over other authors is a following. He has an audience that was willing to buy his writing regardless of who or how it was published. This has also been done by relatively unknown authors who have achieved a terrific level of success. The key is marketing, whether to your fans or a new pool of readers, if you cannot find ways to alert consumers to your writing you have little chance of selling copies.
LV: Jumping for a minute to iPad as well, I spoke with an author who said that being exposed to so many new, curious readers is a marketer's dream. These people who try out new technology aren't the same ones who read the New York Review of Books. They are willing to try out many new things, including new authors and new genres. Is this true? If so, e-publishing on these new devices could be the way past the barriers that have kept new authors out of New York publishing for so long.
Simmons: The iPad did not suddenly create new readers, it provided a new platform where those interested in technology could find and read content. These folks may never buy books in a bookstore but will purchase an e-book from the iTunes store. Why? The content was seen as relevant, interesting and priced in a way in which the consumer was willing to give it a chance. If they purchase then read and enjoy or find it informative, they will come back. This new method for delivering content is what Apple has created, now it’s up to the publishers to supply the demand for low cost, relevant, interesting and informative content, not to mention entertaining.
LV: Publishers Marketplace is reporting that the Andrew Wylie company is starting a literary agency called Odyssey that will deal solely with e-publishers. Now other literary agencies say they will do the same. Does this mean that they will try to set up the old system that was in place for so long—where, for good or bad, literary agents often had more power than publishers? They used to sort out the obvious garbage that came over the transom, but now they are so frightened of failure that they are rejecting almost everything. Could they bring this same dysfunctional behavior to e-publishing?
Simmons: It makes sense for a literary agency to vertically integrate their business when the cost of e-book production is so low. The traditional method of print publishing carried enormous cost built into the system, now with e-books that cost has gone away. It is inexpensive to produce a quality e-book compared to print so the economics of the business will allow more and more companies to jump in. As for the dysfunctional behavior, I believe that digital publishing will actually provide more opportunities for writers than the old print method.
LV: Finally, anyone who has every published independently knows that marketing is quite difficult. Give writers some tips on how to market e-books, because now there are no book signings anymore, and everything has to be done online. How do you personalize an e-book and ramp up interest? How are YOU ramping up interest?
Simmons: Authors need to stop concentrating on the idea of marketing their book and consider their message or themselves as the focus of their marketing. Publicity sells books and media is interested in a good story, not the fact someone has written and published a book. If an author does not know where their writing is positioned in the market and especially among all the other titles in their genre, they will find it difficult to market. My tips would be 1) decide what to market—their book, message or themselves, and 2) figure out where their title belongs on a bookshelf, between which two competing books?
July 28, 2010
Fourth Larsson Millennium novel may rise from the dead
By Lynn Voedisch
Meanwhile, there were hints in the spring from the Swedish press that Gabrielsson had helped Larsson write the novels. Some co-workers of Larsson, who was primarily a journalist, have stated he couldn't possibly have written the books on his own and that Gabrielsson must have co-written them. Only one writer has come to Larsson's defense and he's been roundly criticized by the Swedish press. Gabrielsson has remained mum except to say she might have helped copy-edit the work.
Read more: http://technorati.com/entertainment/article/fourth-larsson-millennium-novel-may-rise/page-2/#ixzz0uzrGdpc3
Read more: http://technorati.com/entertainment/article/fourth-larsson-millennium-novel-may-rise/#ixzz0uzqc9EBQ
This article first ran as Fourth Larsson Millennium Novel May Rise From the Dead on July 18 on www.technorati.com
Fans of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy are salivating at the idea that a fourth book may be forthcoming from the late author, and Swedish publisher Norstedts is giving them faint hope that a manuscript could indeed rise from the dead.
This is no mean trick. According to AP, Larsson's books, published in the U.S. as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and are selling more than 50,000 copies a day in the United States. A possible fourth book is bound to be a veritable gold mine for Norstedts and any other publishers that contract for foreign translations.
The issue at hand is only 320 pages of the purported manuscript were completed by the Swedish author before he died at age 50 of a sudden heart attack. He had outlines for the book to run to 440 pages. Previously, his live-in girlfriend, Eva Gabrielsson, said she had the manuscript on her laptop. But because Swedish inheritance laws don't recognize common-law marriages, she was not entitled to any of the money made on the novel's sizable profits, or on the money made by the release of the Swedish movie. An American movie is also in the works.
Instead, all the inheritance money has gone to Larsson's father and brother, Erland and Joakim Larsson, who have been outright stingy by any interpretation of events, and will share relatively little money with Gabrielsson. They want the laptop and the partial manuscript, but she's not giving it to them. Talks between the two parties finally reached an impasse in June. Sentiment among the Swedish people remains strongly in Gabrielsson's favor.
Meanwhile, there were hints in the spring from the Swedish press that Gabrielsson had helped Larsson write the novels. Some co-workers of Larsson, who was primarily a journalist, have stated he couldn't possibly have written the books on his own and that Gabrielsson must have co-written them. Only one writer has come to Larsson's defense and he's been roundly criticized by the Swedish press. Gabrielsson has remained mum except to say she might have helped copy-edit the work.Now, Gabrielsson says she doesn't have the laptop with the manuscript and seems to have forgotten making previous statements about having it. All this is frustrating the heirs, who don't want her to finish the fourth book, because it would give her a clear road to inheriting the money from that novel, according to John-Hentry Holmbert, a friend of Larsson's who was interviewed by A.P.
Norstedts is remaining fairly close-mouthed on the subject. "The questions about the fourth manuscript (are) entirely hypothetical," company head Eva Gedin told A.P. "We have never studied this manuscript and therefore don't know if it exists, how much has been written and if so, what shape the manuscript is in."
According to Holmberg, the e-mail he had received a while back from Larsson details that the novel takes place 120 kilometers north of Sachs Harbour, at Banks Island in Canada in the month of September.
"Did you know that 134 people live in Sachs Harbour, whose only contact with the world is a postal plane twice a week when the weather permits?" Larsson wrote in the e-mail. "But there are 48,000 musk-ox and 80 different types of wild flowers that bloom during two weeks in early July, as well as an estimated 1,500 polar bears."
Holmberg didn't know much more of the plot, but said it would—like all of Larsson's other books—deal with women and violence against women. Fans of Larsson's work are hoping against hope that something will rise from the ashes out of this scenario and that a dead writer will once again produce a best-selling thriller.
Read more: http://technorati.com/entertainment/article/fourth-larsson-millennium-novel-may-rise/page-2/#ixzz0uzrGdpc3
Read more: http://technorati.com/entertainment/article/fourth-larsson-millennium-novel-may-rise/#ixzz0uzqc9EBQ
This article first ran as Fourth Larsson Millennium Novel May Rise From the Dead on July 18 on www.technorati.com
July 26, 2010
Water overrun
Friday night, Chicago had a torrential rain. Some areas measured seven or more inches of downfall. We were hit badly. Usually the problem is a flooded basement—and that's often the problem we get. Seepage runs in from our walls and we get water congregating in the middle of the floor. Nothing bad. And the shop vac usually gets rid of it pretty easily.
But this time, it came in overhead. Oh, yes. Overhead. Drip, drip, drip, in the kitchen. Something was coming in from the overhead tiles. A pot collected the water until morning. Then in the light of day we discovered a closet upstairs ruined by water damage that had come in along the chimney. Probably along the some fissure that developed along the edge through a hole in the flashing. Nothing big that a roofer can'f fix in a jiffy. But the closet is another thing.
Fortunately most of the mess destroyed in the closet was a bunch of clothes and junk that we should have tossed out long ago. Many of the clothes were things that I had dithered about giving away, but never did. Well, guess what? Now they are history! Some are objects that were given to me, I never liked much, so I stashed in the closet. No one's going to remember giving me that stuff, so there's an easy way to pitch it all.
Our essential papers and pictures of my son when he was a baby? Fortunately saved! My shoes? Saved! But the dry wall is going to have to be replaced and that's going to be a mess.
Look at it this way. Things could have been much, much worse. Our neighbors down the street obvously had a major basement flood, because their had wadded up basement carpet with their Monday garbage. Gottta be a mess.
And an apartment building in downtown Chicago, right on the Chicago River, managed to have its parking garage totally flooded. Somehow diesel fuel got into the chlorinated swimming pool (don't ask me how), creating a toxic gas. Result: the entire building had to be evacuated.
As I say: could be worse.
Our roofer can't make it till next week. Lots of roofs to repair. The weather report is calling for for more rain this week. I think we need umbrellas in the closet.
But this time, it came in overhead. Oh, yes. Overhead. Drip, drip, drip, in the kitchen. Something was coming in from the overhead tiles. A pot collected the water until morning. Then in the light of day we discovered a closet upstairs ruined by water damage that had come in along the chimney. Probably along the some fissure that developed along the edge through a hole in the flashing. Nothing big that a roofer can'f fix in a jiffy. But the closet is another thing.
Fortunately most of the mess destroyed in the closet was a bunch of clothes and junk that we should have tossed out long ago. Many of the clothes were things that I had dithered about giving away, but never did. Well, guess what? Now they are history! Some are objects that were given to me, I never liked much, so I stashed in the closet. No one's going to remember giving me that stuff, so there's an easy way to pitch it all.
Our essential papers and pictures of my son when he was a baby? Fortunately saved! My shoes? Saved! But the dry wall is going to have to be replaced and that's going to be a mess.
Look at it this way. Things could have been much, much worse. Our neighbors down the street obvously had a major basement flood, because their had wadded up basement carpet with their Monday garbage. Gottta be a mess.
And an apartment building in downtown Chicago, right on the Chicago River, managed to have its parking garage totally flooded. Somehow diesel fuel got into the chlorinated swimming pool (don't ask me how), creating a toxic gas. Result: the entire building had to be evacuated.
As I say: could be worse.
Our roofer can't make it till next week. Lots of roofs to repair. The weather report is calling for for more rain this week. I think we need umbrellas in the closet.
July 22, 2010
After series win over Phillies, Chicago Cubs still need retooling
By Lynn Voedisch
At the conclusion of the Cubs-Phillies series, which the Chicago Cubs won decisively 3-1 Sunday night, a fan was wildly enthusiastic. "The Cubs are coming back!" he yelled at Wrigley Field, as fans high-fived all around him. "This isn't just a good night. They are coming back, baby!" Sunday's (July 18) score was Chicago, 11, Philadelphia, 6.
As much as one would like to hope, there's little evidence of that.
Now that the All-Star Break has come and gone, the Cubs are still under .500 with a season record of 40-50. New owners the Ricketts family have done absolutely nothing to better the fortunes of this ball club. Everyone likes to talk about the Loveable Losers, but just two years ago, the team won their division in fine form.
They were, as most Cub fans will attest , the best team assembled in many years, with terrific pitching, fearsome hitting, and a proud unit of utility fielders who could interchange whenever manager Lou Piniella felt the need. They were the team Cubs fans dreamed about.
Then they went off to the playoffs in Los Angeles and stood like catatonic freaks while the Dodgers romped all over them.
Oh, let's be kind; they underperformed. Badly.
At this point many Cubs fans tore off their jerseys, set up bonfires in Wrigleyville in Chicago and said "Never again. We've been fooled for 99 years, but no more!"
Guess what? It's now been 101 years, and the fooling goes on.
You'd think the Ricketts team would get wise and start moving some people around, make a few trades, even tear up a contract or two. But no, like the frozen Cubbies of two years ago, they don't dare make a move and somehow expect the Cubs to come alive.
The definition of insanity, goes the old saw, is repeating the same old mistakes and expecting different results.
By this token, the whole Cubs organization has sunken into madness. How else do you explain the continued appearance of Anfonso Soriano, the left fielder who does not much of anything but draw catcalls?
At the conclusion of the Cubs-Phillies series, which the Chicago Cubs won decisively 3-1 Sunday night, a fan was wildly enthusiastic. "The Cubs are coming back!" he yelled at Wrigley Field, as fans high-fived all around him. "This isn't just a good night. They are coming back, baby!" Sunday's (July 18) score was Chicago, 11, Philadelphia, 6.
As much as one would like to hope, there's little evidence of that.
Now that the All-Star Break has come and gone, the Cubs are still under .500 with a season record of 40-50. New owners the Ricketts family have done absolutely nothing to better the fortunes of this ball club. Everyone likes to talk about the Loveable Losers, but just two years ago, the team won their division in fine form.
They were, as most Cub fans will attest , the best team assembled in many years, with terrific pitching, fearsome hitting, and a proud unit of utility fielders who could interchange whenever manager Lou Piniella felt the need. They were the team Cubs fans dreamed about.
Then they went off to the playoffs in Los Angeles and stood like catatonic freaks while the Dodgers romped all over them.
Oh, let's be kind; they underperformed. Badly.
At this point many Cubs fans tore off their jerseys, set up bonfires in Wrigleyville in Chicago and said "Never again. We've been fooled for 99 years, but no more!"
Guess what? It's now been 101 years, and the fooling goes on.
You'd think the Ricketts team would get wise and start moving some people around, make a few trades, even tear up a contract or two. But no, like the frozen Cubbies of two years ago, they don't dare make a move and somehow expect the Cubs to come alive.
The definition of insanity, goes the old saw, is repeating the same old mistakes and expecting different results.
By this token, the whole Cubs organization has sunken into madness. How else do you explain the continued appearance of Anfonso Soriano, the left fielder who does not much of anything but draw catcalls?
June 14, 2007
Moving along again
Today's blog stop is here. The person who was supposed to put up an essay of mine yesterday never answered e-mails and was basically unavailable to everyone. You have to wonder what's going on--family emergency, or just plain sloth? Hard to tell, but today's interview is up.
I'm still waiting for you guys to give me some ideas for which passages of "Excited Light" I should use for my reading.
I've now got votes for several different passages and there's not time for all of them. But I did have fun ordering the birthday cake for the event.
As for "The Double Bind." What a cheap cop-out! I'm not going to do a spoiler, but the ending really pissed me off. Now, I am annoyed at using the characters from "The Great Gatsby" and *also* irritated at the stupid trick he pulls on the reader at the end. Barnes & Noble was touting this as some great discovery of the month. My advice: don't waste your time. Who makes these "great discovery" decisions anyway? I've read books by self-published authors that are much more polished and original than this.
Must get to extreme gardening. The weather has been delightful but humidity is moving in and I'd like to get a lot of this done before the 90s hit. So, I'll make this short. I will be having some time to start visiting blogs again as all my extra guest blogs are done. It was a lot of work and I'm sorry if it took me out of circulation at Xanga for a while. I've also got to get back to writing the work in progress. I finished Chapter 11, but now need to think out how Chapter 12 is going to go. I think I'm about I/2 to 2/3 of the way in my first draft. It's taking lots of work for this novel because of all the research I had to do.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age
I'm still waiting for you guys to give me some ideas for which passages of "Excited Light" I should use for my reading.
I've now got votes for several different passages and there's not time for all of them. But I did have fun ordering the birthday cake for the event.
As for "The Double Bind." What a cheap cop-out! I'm not going to do a spoiler, but the ending really pissed me off. Now, I am annoyed at using the characters from "The Great Gatsby" and *also* irritated at the stupid trick he pulls on the reader at the end. Barnes & Noble was touting this as some great discovery of the month. My advice: don't waste your time. Who makes these "great discovery" decisions anyway? I've read books by self-published authors that are much more polished and original than this.
Must get to extreme gardening. The weather has been delightful but humidity is moving in and I'd like to get a lot of this done before the 90s hit. So, I'll make this short. I will be having some time to start visiting blogs again as all my extra guest blogs are done. It was a lot of work and I'm sorry if it took me out of circulation at Xanga for a while. I've also got to get back to writing the work in progress. I finished Chapter 11, but now need to think out how Chapter 12 is going to go. I think I'm about I/2 to 2/3 of the way in my first draft. It's taking lots of work for this novel because of all the research I had to do.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age
June 13, 2007
Yes, I know...
Yes, I know...
My essay for the next stop on the blog tour is not there. Instead, there is a June 11 posting on procrastination. Believe me, the irony is not lost on me. The person who is putting this tour together for me is just as perturbed as I am. So, it might go up tomorrow, it might be another day. I have to just sit and wait.
I'm reading a book called "The Double Bind" right now and have extremely conflicting feelings about. It is a contemporary thriller (although the first half of the book is not thrilling at all), that brings in the characters of "The Great Gatsby," *as if they were real.* I'm not at all in favor of authors poaching characters from other books, even if they are using the imaginary people in a "what if" scenario. In this case, they want to know what if Daisy had a son by Jay Gatsby...and then take it from there. The son plays a major role in the book.
This is annoying to me because I think that authors should make up their own personae. Taking characters that were worked upon and perfected by another writer (even if he/she is long dead) doesn't seem fair. It's as if you were having someone do half the work for you. Believe me, creating creditable fictional people is not easy. I worked extremely hard on them in my second novel (now gathering dust on my hard drive). My writing guru in New York said they were extremely good, yet an agent wrote back and told me they were "cardboard characters." That's the guy who wrote such a nasty e-mail I broke down in tears. And I've had a lot of rejections, my skin can be thick when it comes to rejection letters. But this one went over the top.
But the main point here is I think what "The Double Bind" author, Chris Bohjalian, does is stealing. Out and out theft.
Yet, he has created a good thriller in the back half of the book. I can't wait to see how it all ends. And that's usually the mark of a great book. So, I'm conflicted. Yes, I have real problems with this one.
QUESTION: For all of you who have read my novel, "Excited Light,", I was wondering if you could help out. I am doing a reading next Wednesday and need to pick out a couple sections to present to the public. I get about 12 minutes, so I could do a couple sections. Which ones do you think I should pick? I don't want the book to sound like a downer, but all the passages I like are the out-of-control-with-alcohol ones. I don't know what this says about me.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age,
My essay for the next stop on the blog tour is not there. Instead, there is a June 11 posting on procrastination. Believe me, the irony is not lost on me. The person who is putting this tour together for me is just as perturbed as I am. So, it might go up tomorrow, it might be another day. I have to just sit and wait.
I'm reading a book called "The Double Bind" right now and have extremely conflicting feelings about. It is a contemporary thriller (although the first half of the book is not thrilling at all), that brings in the characters of "The Great Gatsby," *as if they were real.* I'm not at all in favor of authors poaching characters from other books, even if they are using the imaginary people in a "what if" scenario. In this case, they want to know what if Daisy had a son by Jay Gatsby...and then take it from there. The son plays a major role in the book.
This is annoying to me because I think that authors should make up their own personae. Taking characters that were worked upon and perfected by another writer (even if he/she is long dead) doesn't seem fair. It's as if you were having someone do half the work for you. Believe me, creating creditable fictional people is not easy. I worked extremely hard on them in my second novel (now gathering dust on my hard drive). My writing guru in New York said they were extremely good, yet an agent wrote back and told me they were "cardboard characters." That's the guy who wrote such a nasty e-mail I broke down in tears. And I've had a lot of rejections, my skin can be thick when it comes to rejection letters. But this one went over the top.
But the main point here is I think what "The Double Bind" author, Chris Bohjalian, does is stealing. Out and out theft.
Yet, he has created a good thriller in the back half of the book. I can't wait to see how it all ends. And that's usually the mark of a great book. So, I'm conflicted. Yes, I have real problems with this one.
QUESTION: For all of you who have read my novel, "Excited Light,", I was wondering if you could help out. I am doing a reading next Wednesday and need to pick out a couple sections to present to the public. I get about 12 minutes, so I could do a couple sections. Which ones do you think I should pick? I don't want the book to sound like a downer, but all the passages I like are the out-of-control-with-alcohol ones. I don't know what this says about me.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age,
June 12, 2007
Next stop...
Okay....
My next stop tomorrow is at Storycrafters, where I talk about how to write without an outline. (Call the Outline Police!)
Really, I'm so busy I could scream. But go have a look over there. I'm hoping some people will leave comments.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age,
My next stop tomorrow is at Storycrafters, where I talk about how to write without an outline. (Call the Outline Police!)
Really, I'm so busy I could scream. But go have a look over there. I'm hoping some people will leave comments.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age,
June 11, 2007
Don't Stop Believin'
Here I am at Printers Row. You'll notice that I had a drawing for free angel cards, but hardly anyone entered. What is it about "free" that people don't understand? I still haven't picked a winner since then I'll have to contact them and set up some kind of way to get the cards to them. I should somehow make them feel very guilty about not buying my book. (Not one entrant bought my book.)
Would you buy a book from this woman?
Not much more to say about the book sale that hasn't been said.
My virtual book tour stops tomorrow at http://www.bloggingauthors.blogspot.com/
It's another all-new interview and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
SPOILER ALERT: I'm still annoyed at "The Sopranos" ending. The number of people who are pissed off is pretty high. My version of what happened? I think that Meadow, being the only person in the family with a brain, was really scared, which is why she couldn't park her car. Normally, you'd expect parallel parking to be a breeze for her. Then she runs in with a desperate look on her face, as if she is about to warn them about something. She didn't just look late, she looked crazed. Who was she warning them about? Probably the dude in the bathroom. And note: Tony selected "I Did It My Way" from the jukebox. That would have been a farewell. Instead, "Don't Stop Believin' " plays. A bit of hope there? Or am I reading way too much into this stuff?
All in all, a sucko ending and a great series like that deserved a better ending.
END OF SPOILER.
See you tomorrow!
Lynn
Here I am at Printers Row. You'll notice that I had a drawing for free angel cards, but hardly anyone entered. What is it about "free" that people don't understand? I still haven't picked a winner since then I'll have to contact them and set up some kind of way to get the cards to them. I should somehow make them feel very guilty about not buying my book. (Not one entrant bought my book.)
[Lynn at Printers Row]
Would you buy a book from this woman?
Not much more to say about the book sale that hasn't been said.
My virtual book tour stops tomorrow at http://www.bloggingauthors.blogspot.com/
It's another all-new interview and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
SPOILER ALERT: I'm still annoyed at "The Sopranos" ending. The number of people who are pissed off is pretty high. My version of what happened? I think that Meadow, being the only person in the family with a brain, was really scared, which is why she couldn't park her car. Normally, you'd expect parallel parking to be a breeze for her. Then she runs in with a desperate look on her face, as if she is about to warn them about something. She didn't just look late, she looked crazed. Who was she warning them about? Probably the dude in the bathroom. And note: Tony selected "I Did It My Way" from the jukebox. That would have been a farewell. Instead, "Don't Stop Believin' " plays. A bit of hope there? Or am I reading way too much into this stuff?
All in all, a sucko ending and a great series like that deserved a better ending.
END OF SPOILER.
See you tomorrow!
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age,
Printers Row Book Fair
Would you buy a book from this woman?
Not much more to say about the book sale that hasn't been said.
My virtual book tour stops tomorrow at http://www.bloggingauthors.blogspot.com/
It's another all-new interview and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
SPOILER ALERT: I'm still annoyed at "The Sopranos" ending. The number of people who are pissed off is pretty high. My version of what happened? I think that Meadow, being the only person in the family with a brain, was really scared, which is why she couldn't park her car. Normally, you'd expect parallel parking to be a breeze for her. Then she runs in with a desperate look on her face, as if she is about to warn them about something. She didn't just look late, she looked crazed. Who was she warning them about? Probably the dude in the bathroom. And note: Tony selected "I Did It My Way" from the jukebox. That would have been a farewell. Instead, "Don't Stop Believin' " plays. A bit of hope there? Or am I reading way too much into this stuff?
All in all, a sucko ending and a great series like that deserved a better ending.
END OF SPOILER.
See you tomorrow!
Lynn
Here I am at Printers Row. You'll notice that I had a drawing for free angel cards, but hardly anyone entered. What is it about "free" that people don't understand? I still haven't picked a winner since then I'll have to contact them and set up some kind of way to get the cards to them. I should somehow make them feel very guilty about not buying my book. (Not one entrant bought my book.)
[Lynn at Printers Row]
Would you buy a book from this woman?
Not much more to say about the book sale that hasn't been said.
My virtual book tour stops tomorrow at http://www.bloggingauthors.blogspot.com/
It's another all-new interview and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
SPOILER ALERT: I'm still annoyed at "The Sopranos" ending. The number of people who are pissed off is pretty high. My version of what happened? I think that Meadow, being the only person in the family with a brain, was really scared, which is why she couldn't park her car. Normally, you'd expect parallel parking to be a breeze for her. Then she runs in with a desperate look on her face, as if she is about to warn them about something. She didn't just look late, she looked crazed. Who was she warning them about? Probably the dude in the bathroom. And note: Tony selected "I Did It My Way" from the jukebox. That would have been a farewell. Instead, "Don't Stop Believin' " plays. A bit of hope there? Or am I reading way too much into this stuff?
All in all, a sucko ending and a great series like that deserved a better ending.
END OF SPOILER.
See you tomorrow!
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age,
Printers Row Book Fair
June 10, 2007
Two more books
had so much of a better time at the book fair this weekend. We were at a better location, met better people, and the weather was perfect. I'd put a photo in this blog, but I am so sleepy that I will have to wait until tomorrow. This is assuming that the photos worked out, because I have some doubts about that.
I still only sold two books, but I decided to chat it up with everyone there. It was great fun meeting new people, and all the people are writers signed up for our Chicago Writers Assn. Funny how if you tell someone you are the author, One lady with a huge pair of glasses claimed she was some kind of coach for podcasting, then said she wanted to buy my book, but didn't have any cash. I told her she could buy it online.
"Oh, no, honey, I want to give the money right to you." Uh-huh. When my shift was over she had never returned. I guess there are plenty of b.s. artists floating around at shows like that. Fortunately, I don't think anyone was going to buy her podcast services.
I'm very tired, but did watch the end of "The Sopranos" and really am not sure what I was seeing. I think it was supposed to evoke some deep down feelings, even though nothing really happened. I'm not sure what was went on and need to think about this for a while. I liked the FBI agent in the end--a funny moment in a pretty brutal drama. If anyone has any theories about what was going on in that ending, I'd love to hear them. No one's predictions were right, including mine, which was we'd see a "Hamlet" ending. (Die, die, they all die.) Unless maybe we did see that? I don't know.
Kinda sad that it's over. I was really used to it and I hate to see it go away. I hardly watch TV at all, so it was a rare treat for me.
I won't be on my blog tour until June 12, but I'll let you know about it tomorrow.
Have a relaxing night.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age,
Printers Row Book Fair
I still only sold two books, but I decided to chat it up with everyone there. It was great fun meeting new people, and all the people are writers signed up for our Chicago Writers Assn. Funny how if you tell someone you are the author, One lady with a huge pair of glasses claimed she was some kind of coach for podcasting, then said she wanted to buy my book, but didn't have any cash. I told her she could buy it online.
"Oh, no, honey, I want to give the money right to you." Uh-huh. When my shift was over she had never returned. I guess there are plenty of b.s. artists floating around at shows like that. Fortunately, I don't think anyone was going to buy her podcast services.
I'm very tired, but did watch the end of "The Sopranos" and really am not sure what I was seeing. I think it was supposed to evoke some deep down feelings, even though nothing really happened. I'm not sure what was went on and need to think about this for a while. I liked the FBI agent in the end--a funny moment in a pretty brutal drama. If anyone has any theories about what was going on in that ending, I'd love to hear them. No one's predictions were right, including mine, which was we'd see a "Hamlet" ending. (Die, die, they all die.) Unless maybe we did see that? I don't know.
Kinda sad that it's over. I was really used to it and I hate to see it go away. I hardly watch TV at all, so it was a rare treat for me.
I won't be on my blog tour until June 12, but I'll let you know about it tomorrow.
Have a relaxing night.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
"Excited Light",
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
New Age,
Printers Row Book Fair
June 8, 2007
Nerves!
Nerves
I'm completely in a tizzy about the upcoming Printers Row Book Fair I will be in this weekend in Chicago. My nerves are just jangling. It doesn't seem like any big thing to worry about, and people have told me it has a really relaxed atmosphere. Plus, I'm going to be sharing a tent with a good writing friend. So, why am I freaking out?
It's because I am envisioning thousands of people walking up to me and asking "What's the book about?" Now, I do have what they call the Elevator Speech to explain it, plus they can look at the back cover of the book to read the blurb. But when I have to actually DO the Elevator Speech, I always stumble and bumble and go off-script. I never say it the same way twice. I have learned that there are plenty of other writers who do this, but that doesn't help much. I'm also afraid I'm going to scare off some people with the angels theme, because they will think it's a religious book. On the other hand, I don't want the fundamentalists because they will find plenty to be offended about in this book. Ack! What to do.
The bookmarks are printed and we will get the poster today (yay, hubby). I brainstormed with my boothmate today and we decided to have a free candy dish (can't hurt). I'm doing a drawing for free Angel Cards, which I will display. We have tarps if it rains, umbrellas, and my friend wants me to bring a boom box to play music--since her book, "Hudson Lake", is about the life of Bix Biederbecke. (Please forgive me if I spelled that incorrectly.)
Anyway, my stop today on the Virtual Book Tour is at The Book Peddler http://thebookpedler.wordpress.com/
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch, "Excited Light, angels, Printers Row Book Fair, magical realism, contemporary fantasy
I'm completely in a tizzy about the upcoming Printers Row Book Fair I will be in this weekend in Chicago. My nerves are just jangling. It doesn't seem like any big thing to worry about, and people have told me it has a really relaxed atmosphere. Plus, I'm going to be sharing a tent with a good writing friend. So, why am I freaking out?
It's because I am envisioning thousands of people walking up to me and asking "What's the book about?" Now, I do have what they call the Elevator Speech to explain it, plus they can look at the back cover of the book to read the blurb. But when I have to actually DO the Elevator Speech, I always stumble and bumble and go off-script. I never say it the same way twice. I have learned that there are plenty of other writers who do this, but that doesn't help much. I'm also afraid I'm going to scare off some people with the angels theme, because they will think it's a religious book. On the other hand, I don't want the fundamentalists because they will find plenty to be offended about in this book. Ack! What to do.
The bookmarks are printed and we will get the poster today (yay, hubby). I brainstormed with my boothmate today and we decided to have a free candy dish (can't hurt). I'm doing a drawing for free Angel Cards, which I will display. We have tarps if it rains, umbrellas, and my friend wants me to bring a boom box to play music--since her book, "Hudson Lake", is about the life of Bix Biederbecke. (Please forgive me if I spelled that incorrectly.)
Anyway, my stop today on the Virtual Book Tour is at The Book Peddler http://thebookpedler.wordpress.com/
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch, "Excited Light, angels, Printers Row Book Fair, magical realism, contemporary fantasy
June 7, 2007
I'm way behind...
I know! I'm supposed to write a blog every day during this book tour. But things have just gotten out of hand. I have to write guest blogs and answer interviews. And...there's that little thing called Life that I have to get on with also. Such as going to the dentist and buying my niece a birthday present. That's done, but now I've got a zillion things left to do.
So, just know that I'm going to be a guest on The Book Pedler tomorrow. We did an interview and it's different from the other ones you may have seen.
I'm ducking out. Bye for now.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch, "Excited Light", angels, contemporary fantasy, New Age
So, just know that I'm going to be a guest on The Book Pedler tomorrow. We did an interview and it's different from the other ones you may have seen.
I'm ducking out. Bye for now.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch, "Excited Light", angels, contemporary fantasy, New Age
June 6, 2007
Royalties!
Royalties!
Today, I received my first royalty check from iUniverse for my novel, "Excited Light". It's not a lot of money, but it covers the price I paid to have the book printed, plus another 50% worth of profit. Not too bad. I feel like framing the thing, except I want the money.
There is no stop today in my Virtual Book Tour, so I can just blather about whatever I want today--and naturally, nothing comes to mind. The French Open has ceased to be interesting with the usual suspects in the quarter finals. Serena is out, so there go the Americans.
Not much here but a lot of work. I have to write a guest blog for another stop on the tour, so rather than write two blogs in one day, I shall bid you adieu.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch, Excited Light, contemporary fantasy,New Age,
angels, magical realism
Today, I received my first royalty check from iUniverse for my novel, "Excited Light". It's not a lot of money, but it covers the price I paid to have the book printed, plus another 50% worth of profit. Not too bad. I feel like framing the thing, except I want the money.
There is no stop today in my Virtual Book Tour, so I can just blather about whatever I want today--and naturally, nothing comes to mind. The French Open has ceased to be interesting with the usual suspects in the quarter finals. Serena is out, so there go the Americans.
Not much here but a lot of work. I have to write a guest blog for another stop on the tour, so rather than write two blogs in one day, I shall bid you adieu.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch, Excited Light, contemporary fantasy,New Age,
angels, magical realism
June 5, 2007
Why I don't get writer's block
Something came up on my Chicago Writers Association mailing list about having a writing day job. Does it burn you out for fiction writing, someone wanted to know.
I couldn't disagree more. Having a day-to-day job taught me how to write every day, no
matter how I felt (good discipline for writers), to get things in on deadline, polished my grammar and punctuation skills, and taught me to write about *anything*, even if it was out of my comfort zone.
Because I was in the features department, I also had a lot of leeway and was able to develop a style that was my own. All of these skills are important for fiction writers.
People often want to know what is the best training for a writer, and I always respond, get a job where you have to write every day. Once you learn to write in spite of bad moods, stomach aches, anger, frustration with your kids, or if you just plain-old don't feel like it, then you have become a true writer. Writers write, regardless of things swirling around them. Okay, grief over a loved one or other tragic events will qualify for time off. And vacations should always be true vacations. But people who say they are writers, but don't have anything to show for it really drive me crazy. Get it down on the screen or on paper! Ah, my screed for the day.
Anyway, my wonderful Virtual Book Tour continues at The Wolf Never Sleeps. I have some more writer's advice on there, in saltier language. Also, this tour seems to be working, because some people are buying my book on Amazon. My numbers jumped up and I couldn't be happier.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
Excited Light,
angels, contemporary fantasy,
I couldn't disagree more. Having a day-to-day job taught me how to write every day, no
matter how I felt (good discipline for writers), to get things in on deadline, polished my grammar and punctuation skills, and taught me to write about *anything*, even if it was out of my comfort zone.
Because I was in the features department, I also had a lot of leeway and was able to develop a style that was my own. All of these skills are important for fiction writers.
People often want to know what is the best training for a writer, and I always respond, get a job where you have to write every day. Once you learn to write in spite of bad moods, stomach aches, anger, frustration with your kids, or if you just plain-old don't feel like it, then you have become a true writer. Writers write, regardless of things swirling around them. Okay, grief over a loved one or other tragic events will qualify for time off. And vacations should always be true vacations. But people who say they are writers, but don't have anything to show for it really drive me crazy. Get it down on the screen or on paper! Ah, my screed for the day.
Anyway, my wonderful Virtual Book Tour continues at The Wolf Never Sleeps. I have some more writer's advice on there, in saltier language. Also, this tour seems to be working, because some people are buying my book on Amazon. My numbers jumped up and I couldn't be happier.
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
Excited Light,
angels, contemporary fantasy,
June 4, 2007
There I am!
Yup, I'm in the wonderfully named Plug Your Book Web site today on my Virtual Book Tour.
Who is that woman in the picture on the top? Eudora Welty? It's not Lillian Hellman. I know she's got to be someone famous, but I can't place it. Anyway, the site also has a link to my You Tube book trailer, so that's cool, too.
Last evening brought in some powerful thunderstorms and it has cooled off significantly here. There are puddles and flooded streets. Yuck. I suppose we need the rain, but could it be less messy? I have to do the post office thing, then run some clean clothes down to my son (yes, I still do his laundry). He's in that hell of the last two weeks of school, so I feel bad for him; I picked up some essentials like bottled water, batteries and will also bring him some stamps. They closed the White Hen (you guys know what that is, right? a convenience store?) in his building, so there's nowhere closeby to pick up this kind of thing. And he doesn't have his car downtown. I keep telling him that once I get a big-time advance on a book of mine, I'll buy him garage space. Right now, it's just too astronomical. And the subway is two blocks away.
Then I zip home to work on getting things done for the Printers Row Book Fair. I actually shouldn't be panicking. Hubby is home. Thank goodness, because I was getting very lonely. Just Netflix and me.
Anyone watch last night's "The Sopranos"? I have very few shows I watch with any regularity, "The Daily Show" and "The Sopranos," being tops, then maybe "House" or "30 Rock." And, of course, the French Open. Anyway, "The Sopranos" is down to its final episode next week and it's so freaking depressing. Last night's episode just gave me the chills. Anyone else out there have any opinions on what's going to happen? My guess is that Tony lives, but his "family" is destroyed.
Okay, on that lovely note, see you tomorrow when my next book stop is The Wolf Never Sleeps..
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
Excited Light,
contemporary fantasy,
angels,
Printers Row Book Fair
Who is that woman in the picture on the top? Eudora Welty? It's not Lillian Hellman. I know she's got to be someone famous, but I can't place it. Anyway, the site also has a link to my You Tube book trailer, so that's cool, too.
Last evening brought in some powerful thunderstorms and it has cooled off significantly here. There are puddles and flooded streets. Yuck. I suppose we need the rain, but could it be less messy? I have to do the post office thing, then run some clean clothes down to my son (yes, I still do his laundry). He's in that hell of the last two weeks of school, so I feel bad for him; I picked up some essentials like bottled water, batteries and will also bring him some stamps. They closed the White Hen (you guys know what that is, right? a convenience store?) in his building, so there's nowhere closeby to pick up this kind of thing. And he doesn't have his car downtown. I keep telling him that once I get a big-time advance on a book of mine, I'll buy him garage space. Right now, it's just too astronomical. And the subway is two blocks away.
Then I zip home to work on getting things done for the Printers Row Book Fair. I actually shouldn't be panicking. Hubby is home. Thank goodness, because I was getting very lonely. Just Netflix and me.
Anyone watch last night's "The Sopranos"? I have very few shows I watch with any regularity, "The Daily Show" and "The Sopranos," being tops, then maybe "House" or "30 Rock." And, of course, the French Open. Anyway, "The Sopranos" is down to its final episode next week and it's so freaking depressing. Last night's episode just gave me the chills. Anyone else out there have any opinions on what's going to happen? My guess is that Tony lives, but his "family" is destroyed.
Okay, on that lovely note, see you tomorrow when my next book stop is The Wolf Never Sleeps..
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
Excited Light,
contemporary fantasy,
angels,
Printers Row Book Fair
June 3, 2007
Next stop...
My Virtual Book Tour continues tomorrow at http://www.plugyourbook.blogspot.com/, an aptly named site. I mean how close to the truth can you get than "plug your book"? I guess there's a site for everything. Certainly if you put just about any word into Google, you'll get about a hundred results.
Right now, I'm winding down after a rather un-relaxing Sunday of dashing about trying to get things done. I also attacked the weeds. Die, die, die! It's getting better. It doesn't look like a tropical jungle anymore. But I really need my husband and his chain saw for the neighbor's bushes that are growing through the fence into MY garden. Bushes, humph. They don't know their boundaries. Plus a climbing rose bush died, probably due to our rough spring. Requiem for a rose bush. Sigh. I need to buy a replacement.
I really did try to take pix of yesterday's 80th birthday party for my aunt, but that's a little difficult when you haven't brought your camera. D'oh! Good one, Lynn. I took a couple shots with my cell phone, but they look fuzzy. Not sure what was going on there. Accept it, I'm mechanically challenged. I'm still trying to figure out how to take people off my phone book on my cell phone. (When we bought the phone hubby downloaded my address book into it, and I've got people on there who I haven't talked to in years--and some I never want to talk to again!)
I'm beginning to panic about the Printer's Row festival. I don't have my bookmarks printed yet. (Need hubby.) The post cards I sent out had the wrong time for Sunday, so there's that to fix. I'll probably have to e-mail everyone. I have to have my posters printed at Kinko's or whereever and once again I need expert help on how to get this done. I'm not at all calm and collected. I saw the street corner where we will be sitting. Right in the middle of things, but also right by my son's apartment, so I'll have a place to take shelter, grab a cool drink, maybe even invite friends over if my son is willing. I plan to stay there that night, so that I don't have to schlep everything back home on Saturday night, then schlep it back on Sunday.
Look, if I didn't have anything to panic about, it just wouldn't be me.
See ya Monday!
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
Excited Light,
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
Printers Row Book Fair
Right now, I'm winding down after a rather un-relaxing Sunday of dashing about trying to get things done. I also attacked the weeds. Die, die, die! It's getting better. It doesn't look like a tropical jungle anymore. But I really need my husband and his chain saw for the neighbor's bushes that are growing through the fence into MY garden. Bushes, humph. They don't know their boundaries. Plus a climbing rose bush died, probably due to our rough spring. Requiem for a rose bush. Sigh. I need to buy a replacement.
I really did try to take pix of yesterday's 80th birthday party for my aunt, but that's a little difficult when you haven't brought your camera. D'oh! Good one, Lynn. I took a couple shots with my cell phone, but they look fuzzy. Not sure what was going on there. Accept it, I'm mechanically challenged. I'm still trying to figure out how to take people off my phone book on my cell phone. (When we bought the phone hubby downloaded my address book into it, and I've got people on there who I haven't talked to in years--and some I never want to talk to again!)
I'm beginning to panic about the Printer's Row festival. I don't have my bookmarks printed yet. (Need hubby.) The post cards I sent out had the wrong time for Sunday, so there's that to fix. I'll probably have to e-mail everyone. I have to have my posters printed at Kinko's or whereever and once again I need expert help on how to get this done. I'm not at all calm and collected. I saw the street corner where we will be sitting. Right in the middle of things, but also right by my son's apartment, so I'll have a place to take shelter, grab a cool drink, maybe even invite friends over if my son is willing. I plan to stay there that night, so that I don't have to schlep everything back home on Saturday night, then schlep it back on Sunday.
Look, if I didn't have anything to panic about, it just wouldn't be me.
See ya Monday!
Lynn
Lynn Voedisch,
Excited Light,
angels,
contemporary fantasy,
Printers Row Book Fair
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